Installing the Chimney

Well, it's that time again.

Time to start cutting holes in the Momplex, and blocking off wasted square footage behind walls.

At least this time, we've got a pretty good reason.

We are creating a secret escape passage.

That once a year can be used by a strange man in the middle of the night to climb down into your house while you are sleeping.

Yep, it's chimney time! That smoke's gotta escape somehow!

Momplex

Now that's better ...

This piece actually goes in in the event of fire. Ashes would drip in this tray, and give you a little more time before the floor catches on fire. Not that that's ever going to happen, but just in case.

And now we can start putting the pipes together.

The pipes just get stacked on top of each other.

Each joint gets a special ring that is screwed tight to keep the pipes together.

And then up through the ceiling collar it goes

And then out the roof.

And above the roof.

For something designed to keep a house warm, of course it needs a hat and boot.

The temperatures are dropping pretty fast up here in Alaska, with some nights as cold as -30 degrees below zero, without wind chill. It's pretty comforting to know that when we put a heat source in, the chimney's there to take the smoke away.

With the chimney in ... are we really down to just putting vapor barrier up, hanging the upstairs ceiling drywall, and blowing insulation in? Is it really happening????

Step 1 Diagram

Step 1

We've tackled alot of projects. And there's certainly been alot of googling and youtubing and we even have code books stacked up inside the Momplex for referencing.

But this is one of the first times I've seen instruction manuals come with building materials.

Step 2 Diagram

Step 2 Instructions

They say cut a big hole in the floor.

Step 3 Diagram

Step 3 Instructions

We cut a big hole in the floor.

Step 4 Diagram

Step 4 Instructions

Hello down there!

Would make a great laundry chute ... if the laundry was not already upstairs.

Step 5 Diagram

Step 5 Instructions

Then we build an H shaped thing out of wood.

Step 6 Diagram

Step 6 Instructions

And it get's placed in the ceiling.

We actually put one of these in the floor too.

Step 7 Diagram

Step 7 Instructions

See it? The pipe will go up through these two squares and through the roof.

Step 8 Diagram

Step 8 Instructions

The hole is only drilled in one side of the Momplex because we decided that we are only putting one boiler in. Both units have to be heated all the time. If one unit froze up, it would freeze water lines on both sides.

Not only does sharing a boiler save a ton of money, it saves a ton of space. The chimney takes up a side of the smaller bedroom closet.

Step 9 Diagram

Step 9 Instructions

It gets framed off - and there's nothing we can do about the wasted space on either side.

Step 10 Diagram

Step 10 Instructions

The closet is still plenty big - bigger than any closet in my house! And this is the guest bedroom, so we aren't too stressed about the lost space.

Fairest way to decide which unit goes to which mom?

We'll have to do a grandkid count.

Siblings, better get busy.

We don't count. Our kids belong to both grandmas.

Step 11 Diagram

Step 11

Now that we've got our chimney placement, it's time to start putting the pieces in. It's kind of like a jigsaw puzzle where you do the outsides first and fill in inbetween.

Here's the top where it goes through the upstairs ceiling.

Step 12 Diagram